Sometimes fate helps you meet great people. Sam Koch, the University of Massachusetts Head Men’s Soccer Coach, is one of those great people that I’ve been fortunate to meet. Though I am finally officially interviewing him, it seems like over the past two years I have been interviewing him on a daily basis: whether it’s in his office, or over lunch, or when we are really lucky with a pint in our hand. Sam can tell a story unlike many others, and he has plenty of stories to tell (sometimes you’re real lucky and hear them for a 2nd or 3rd time). He has been coaching college soccer for over 30 years, serving as the head coach at Stanford for six years, and currently in his 22nd year at UMass. In August, Koch was diagnosed with sinus cancer. Not surprisingly, he’s approaching this battle head on, and with the same resilient attitude he brings to work everyday.
Soccer Banter: You were hired at UMass in 1991 to coach the team for 3 months as the program was to be cut following the ‘91 season. Twenty-one years later, you and the program are still going - How is that possible?
Sam Koch: I don’t know. That was wild, that was a fun season, twenty-one years ago. I remember calling my old assistant at Stanford, Rick Caldwell, to offer him the assistant job. I told him he had a job, but the program was going to be cut in 3 months, but I think we do some good here. What do you think, you want to come out here and help me out? He told me he needed to think about it, but he would call me back. He calls back like four hours later, is that offer still there, and I said yes, why? He said well I’m already an hour in on my drive out there, I packed my car and on my way. He was great, it was a great season. It was a lot of fun, a great group of kids, hard-working kids. We had to change a couple of things, we went to a zone defense, but they were great and it was a lot of fun. We are still here and it’s because of that group of players. That is what UMass soccer is all about: never giving up, a great work ethic, a desire to succeed, and willing to do whatever it took to get it done. That’s the way all the UMass athletes have been since I’ve been here. Great athletes to work with.
SB: Besides your battle on the field, this summer you were faced with a new one off it as you were diagnosed with Sinus Cancer - How is the treatment currently going? What is your daily life like?
Soccer Banter: You were hired at UMass in 1991 to coach the team for 3 months as the program was to be cut following the ‘91 season. Twenty-one years later, you and the program are still going - How is that possible?
Sam Koch: I don’t know. That was wild, that was a fun season, twenty-one years ago. I remember calling my old assistant at Stanford, Rick Caldwell, to offer him the assistant job. I told him he had a job, but the program was going to be cut in 3 months, but I think we do some good here. What do you think, you want to come out here and help me out? He told me he needed to think about it, but he would call me back. He calls back like four hours later, is that offer still there, and I said yes, why? He said well I’m already an hour in on my drive out there, I packed my car and on my way. He was great, it was a great season. It was a lot of fun, a great group of kids, hard-working kids. We had to change a couple of things, we went to a zone defense, but they were great and it was a lot of fun. We are still here and it’s because of that group of players. That is what UMass soccer is all about: never giving up, a great work ethic, a desire to succeed, and willing to do whatever it took to get it done. That’s the way all the UMass athletes have been since I’ve been here. Great athletes to work with.
SB: Besides your battle on the field, this summer you were faced with a new one off it as you were diagnosed with Sinus Cancer - How is the treatment currently going? What is your daily life like?
SK: Oh whoa…actually it’s going pretty well. 2/3 of the way done. The proton radiation group, this is actually funny, every Friday we have Marvin Gaye music playing in the room, we all get excited, actually maybe too much fun, there should be a law against that. The treatment is going well. The people at Mass General have been fantastic. The doctors are fantastic, I feel very fortunate that I am under their care and have the best people helping me to get rid of this. Everything is thumbs up.
Driving in and out of Boston five days a week. Radiation this afternoon in Boston, we had practice this morning. Tomorrow I will have radiation in the morning and practice in the afternoon. We are getting the practices in around the treatments, which has been great. I think being on the field, psychologically has been very rewarding. It helps make the days go faster – six hours in and out of Boston, only leaves you six hours of the work day. Trying to get a lot done in a short amount of time. The players have been great, the school has been great, the administration has been very supportive. Devin O’Neill, my assistant has been fantastic and has adapted well. When I know I can’t be there, I know that the team is in good hands.
SB: What are your thoughts on the current team and what are the team's strengths?
SK: Strengths are that we are young, if you can call that a strength. We have a lot of new players, we had a lot of guys graduate, and we needed to change some things. We weren’t getting it done, but I think the team we have right now, certainly there are a lot of positives. There is a long way to go, we have a lot of learning to do, and we still have things to accomplish. We need to avoid mistakes – we seem to give a lot of goals away due to freshmen mistakes, but we are getting better. We are going to be up and down, hopefully we can keep on improving, that is our goal each week to get better, with the hope that the time we get into conference play we will be ready. We are a little behind schedule, but we are getting there.
SB: Looking ahead, what are the goals for this team and what needs to happen in order to achieve them?
Driving in and out of Boston five days a week. Radiation this afternoon in Boston, we had practice this morning. Tomorrow I will have radiation in the morning and practice in the afternoon. We are getting the practices in around the treatments, which has been great. I think being on the field, psychologically has been very rewarding. It helps make the days go faster – six hours in and out of Boston, only leaves you six hours of the work day. Trying to get a lot done in a short amount of time. The players have been great, the school has been great, the administration has been very supportive. Devin O’Neill, my assistant has been fantastic and has adapted well. When I know I can’t be there, I know that the team is in good hands.
SB: What are your thoughts on the current team and what are the team's strengths?
SK: Strengths are that we are young, if you can call that a strength. We have a lot of new players, we had a lot of guys graduate, and we needed to change some things. We weren’t getting it done, but I think the team we have right now, certainly there are a lot of positives. There is a long way to go, we have a lot of learning to do, and we still have things to accomplish. We need to avoid mistakes – we seem to give a lot of goals away due to freshmen mistakes, but we are getting better. We are going to be up and down, hopefully we can keep on improving, that is our goal each week to get better, with the hope that the time we get into conference play we will be ready. We are a little behind schedule, but we are getting there.
SB: Looking ahead, what are the goals for this team and what needs to happen in order to achieve them?
SK: Definitely to make the Atlantic-10 tournament is a goal. In order for us to achieve that we need to defensively tighten up our midfield. I think we are doing that, but we haven’t done it as well as we need to. Offensively we have created more chances, but now we need to finish our chances. We are making steps forward, but unfortunately we take steps backwards sometimes. We need to continue to learn from our mistakes and get better. It’s a long process when you have 14 freshman, you’re going to be pulling your hair out quite a bit, which I’ve been able to do.
SB: You have been a head college coach for 28 years, but I'd imagine the most memorable year was 2007 when you took a team with only 3 scholarships to the Final Four...How did that happen??
SK: Magic! It’s funny, because that was a special year, but the next year when we made the NCAA tournament again, I really feel that team had an even tougher job. They had a bulls eye on their back, but they were able to handle it and get an at-large bid by beating St Louis twice at the end of the season. Those two teams were special teams, but the Final Four year was a dream, a dream come true. Making it to the Final Four is something I think everyone strives for, and a lot of people never have that opportunity. I feel very fortunate to be a part of that team. It was a great group from top to bottom – the players, the assistant coaches, and the athletic training staff. It was a great year, it’s one of those things you’ll never forget.
SB: Besides the Final Four team, what are some of your other memorable moments of the last 30+ years in the college game?
SK: I think one of the things I’ll always remember is my first year here, playing Rutgers. They had Alexi Lalas, they had a great team, and they were beating us 6-2. With 30 seconds left we were still fighting in their 18-yard box…but that is what I love about this group, we were down 6-2, but we are still fighting and battling. We then went to the Atlantic-10 tournament and we played Rutgers in the semifinal and ended up losing 2-1, and ended up hitting post with 30 seconds left and we could of tied it. It showed how much that group continued to get better and better. It was just such a fun group to work with.
SB: You have been a head college coach for 28 years, but I'd imagine the most memorable year was 2007 when you took a team with only 3 scholarships to the Final Four...How did that happen??
SK: Magic! It’s funny, because that was a special year, but the next year when we made the NCAA tournament again, I really feel that team had an even tougher job. They had a bulls eye on their back, but they were able to handle it and get an at-large bid by beating St Louis twice at the end of the season. Those two teams were special teams, but the Final Four year was a dream, a dream come true. Making it to the Final Four is something I think everyone strives for, and a lot of people never have that opportunity. I feel very fortunate to be a part of that team. It was a great group from top to bottom – the players, the assistant coaches, and the athletic training staff. It was a great year, it’s one of those things you’ll never forget.
SB: Besides the Final Four team, what are some of your other memorable moments of the last 30+ years in the college game?
SK: I think one of the things I’ll always remember is my first year here, playing Rutgers. They had Alexi Lalas, they had a great team, and they were beating us 6-2. With 30 seconds left we were still fighting in their 18-yard box…but that is what I love about this group, we were down 6-2, but we are still fighting and battling. We then went to the Atlantic-10 tournament and we played Rutgers in the semifinal and ended up losing 2-1, and ended up hitting post with 30 seconds left and we could of tied it. It showed how much that group continued to get better and better. It was just such a fun group to work with.
SB: Don't want to put you on the spot, but who was the best player you ever coached in college and the best player you saw play college soccer?
SK: Good question, so many good players. Obviously Jeff Deren, two-time All-American, a great goal scorer. Andrew Eicher, a midfielder from Billerica, a special player, he could do things that so many other people couldn’t do. He was so steady. Then Yuri Morales, who ended up playing in Denmark, a special midfielder. J.R. Pouncey, a great leader in the back, was pretty slow, but so good at reading the game, you never knew how slow he was, and was such a smart player. Zach Simmons was an All-American goalkeeper, and one of the main reasons we went to the Final Four. There is not one player in particular. When I was at Stanford we had Mark Semioli who was a special player and played in MLS. I remember playing Indiana and I think Indiana won 3-2, but Semioli had both goals. It felt like it was Indiana playing against Mark, but that’s the type of player he was. There have been so many good players, there isn’t one I could say is the best.
John Wolyniec from Fordham. He was a special player. He could hit a ball with his left foot as well as anyone I’ve ever seen. Cam Rast, who played at Santa Clara was a special player. Cobi Jones and Jorge Salecdo at UCLA, there have been some special players that have come through that program. Last years Charlotte team had some special players. The year we played St John’s in the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament (2001), their sweeper, Shalrie Joseph, our whole game plan was to keep him in the back and for 80 minutes it worked. They put him up top for the final 10 minutes and he scored, bastards, but they were good, really good. Those are certainly some of the special players that I remember going against. Chris Henderson, who also played at UCLA is another one, I always liked him, but that’s dating myself a few years.
SB: Last question, what do you look for in a player? What traits does it take for a player to be successful at UMass and in college soccer?
SK: I think it is attitude. Obviously you need to have skill, you need to have speed. But it’s attitude more than anything because you have to do it everyday. And I think that’s something we are fighting right now, because we just can’t do it every day.
To play college soccer is hard to do. You are training year round for 20 games. It can be a grind. You have to have the right attitude to make it through. If you have the right attitude it can be fun, but if you don’t have the right attitude, it can be a nightmare. Overall it’s suppose to be fun, you’re suppose to be having fun out there. We try to make sure our guys are having fun out there, but also trying to accomplish a lot at the same time. Without the proper attitude you can’t do it, at least that’s my opinion.
SK: Good question, so many good players. Obviously Jeff Deren, two-time All-American, a great goal scorer. Andrew Eicher, a midfielder from Billerica, a special player, he could do things that so many other people couldn’t do. He was so steady. Then Yuri Morales, who ended up playing in Denmark, a special midfielder. J.R. Pouncey, a great leader in the back, was pretty slow, but so good at reading the game, you never knew how slow he was, and was such a smart player. Zach Simmons was an All-American goalkeeper, and one of the main reasons we went to the Final Four. There is not one player in particular. When I was at Stanford we had Mark Semioli who was a special player and played in MLS. I remember playing Indiana and I think Indiana won 3-2, but Semioli had both goals. It felt like it was Indiana playing against Mark, but that’s the type of player he was. There have been so many good players, there isn’t one I could say is the best.
John Wolyniec from Fordham. He was a special player. He could hit a ball with his left foot as well as anyone I’ve ever seen. Cam Rast, who played at Santa Clara was a special player. Cobi Jones and Jorge Salecdo at UCLA, there have been some special players that have come through that program. Last years Charlotte team had some special players. The year we played St John’s in the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament (2001), their sweeper, Shalrie Joseph, our whole game plan was to keep him in the back and for 80 minutes it worked. They put him up top for the final 10 minutes and he scored, bastards, but they were good, really good. Those are certainly some of the special players that I remember going against. Chris Henderson, who also played at UCLA is another one, I always liked him, but that’s dating myself a few years.
SB: Last question, what do you look for in a player? What traits does it take for a player to be successful at UMass and in college soccer?
SK: I think it is attitude. Obviously you need to have skill, you need to have speed. But it’s attitude more than anything because you have to do it everyday. And I think that’s something we are fighting right now, because we just can’t do it every day.
To play college soccer is hard to do. You are training year round for 20 games. It can be a grind. You have to have the right attitude to make it through. If you have the right attitude it can be fun, but if you don’t have the right attitude, it can be a nightmare. Overall it’s suppose to be fun, you’re suppose to be having fun out there. We try to make sure our guys are having fun out there, but also trying to accomplish a lot at the same time. Without the proper attitude you can’t do it, at least that’s my opinion.
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